Gemini Rue, a dark, sci-fi adventure game that won the Student Showcase award at 2010’s IGF is coming out next month, and it’s looking tight like a baby in a bottle. Have a gander at the trailer after the jump. If all point’n’click games could be as dramatic as this, I might, y’know, sometimes play one of them. I actually got the chance to try Gemini Rue at last year’s EG Expo, and it reminded me of Snatcher and the Blade Runner game in all the right ways. Thanks to RPS reader Mysterious-Man-Who-Does-Not-Wish-To-Be-Named for the trailer tipoff.
Here’s the official plot rundown:

Azriel Odin, ex-assassin, arrives on the rain-drenched planet of Barracus to find someone. When things go horribly wrong, he can only seek help from the very criminals he used to work for.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a man called Delta-Six wakes up in a hospital with no memory. Without knowing where to turn or who to trust, he vows to escape before he loses his identity completely.

As fate brings these two men closer together, we discover a world where life is cheap, identities are bought and sold, and a simple quest for redemption can change the fate of a whole galaxy.

And according to Blues News, if you pre-order Gemini Rue (EDIT: And pay an extra $10) you’ll get yourself a limited edition CD of the game, too. After that it’ll only be available on the imaginary bullet train that is Digital Distribution.

Don’t worry. Until right now, I had no idea that “BASS” could mean “Beneath A Steel Sky”. I just thought it needed some DRUM. ;)

I must say, somehow “BASS” didn’t give me that atmospheric feeling I expected. It felt too colourful and fun(ny).
More Dark-City-style “something is veeery wrong here” but in a sci-fi Neuromancer “sprawl” setting with huge machines moving, raw steel plates thicker than safe walls, lots of rain pouring down over neon and harbour lighting between skyscrapers and food stands, but all a bit greyed out, just like the sky… Add some deep sub-bass and industrial noises music to it… and the smell of wet hair, stinking water, oil and dark steel, with a cold breeze blowing water down your neck…
Now that would give it the right athmosphere! :)

Edit: Actually, the game looks pretty close to my description. I wish I could load it into SCUMMVM right now! :D

@BAReFOOT – you know that the game is available completely free as well, right? The developers released it a few years back and it is still brilliant. Except that when I ran it I couldn’t get it to save so it had to be left running constantly.

I LOVED Beneath A Steel Sky – even had my own t-shirt made AND got an autographed comic book that came with the game, signed by Dave Gibbons who did the art (Watchmen guy). The atmosphere in BASS was spot on I thought – the drab and dull upper areas, the more colourful lower ones, the dark and damp subways, etc. etc.

BASS is actually a flawed but interesting adventure game, praised only because of nostalgic values. It’s funny, because it starts brilliantly and comes downhill from there, until the ending, where a very complex mix of puzzles throw you to the abrupt ending. It plays a little patchy, sometimes being very dark, sometimes a bit goofy.

It has very unique touches though, like the VR parts. And, after all, it’s a huge step forward from the unfocused Lure of the Tempress.

For no reason other than the shameless self-promotion of a now-defunct project, I offer my review of Beneath A Steel Sky; I think I was fair. If you just want to know about the game, you can skip the first few paragraphs that deal with SCUMM-VM.

I love your definition of adventure games and their puzzles. I mean, NO. Puzzles CANNOT be sensible. Sensible puzzles are dumb puzzles. Puzzles must be creative and well designed. And again, the problem with THAT puzzle in GK3 is not that it is too difficult, but that it doesn’t work in its context.

Risingson, who thinks adventures went downhill when it all became mundane and unimaginative.

Here I was, coming only here to post “Ohai look, it’s Beneath a steel rue” to vast roars of applause and peer approval for extreme cleverness and wordsmithing, and it turns out more than one person in the world is capable of connecting the adventure game dots.

The limited CD edition isn’t automatic with pre-orders, it’s an extra $10. Includes the soundtrack and some extras too, though, and won’t be available other than pre-ordered. Looks very promising – do we know if the “innovative investigation system’ means something interesting mechanically?

Looks great. I love how classic adventures are so loved by indie developers, who also seem to be the ones that know how to design them without boring us with long texts and uninteresting characters (I’m pointing at you, my dreaded north-european developers).

That’s not really true, it only has fewer strings. You should really try out Blade Runner if you can get it somewhere and get it up to run. It’s gold even today, although it’s already nearing it’s fourteenth birthday.

This looks like pure awesome. As mentioned above, it reminds me of BASS which was the first game I ever bought with my very own moneys! It was a choice between that and the Lion King. I remember walking into the massive GAME store (back when it was all decked out in cool futurepunk style themeing and the pc game section was massssive!

Anyway, I digress. This reminds me of my youth and i am afraid may be intaspurchase despite my new years resolution of not spending unnecessary funds…. my will power is woeful.

Yeah, the 90s were brilliant for moody adventure games – even the ones which are easily forgotten now (like Innocent Until Caught and Legend of Kyrandia to name just two) – and I really miss this in modern games. Even adventure games now are mostly soulless and feel far less charismatic. You need to look towards the indie scene to still find adventure games with a kick. All the “professional” ones are by the numbers, with stories that don’t really surprise, characters that are forgettable and generic music & clean backdrops.

I think the bladerunner reference is more accurate. While BASS started as something that looked bladerunnery, it quickly degenerated into weird comic-book and bad comedy.
This looks like it has a decent dark atmosphere and a more serious setting. More bladerunner than BASS.

It’s only like Bladerunner if it’s non-linear. The unrecognised pinacle of the point and click genre.

If anyone hasn’t played it I really recommend it, just make sure you save before entering the shooting range. I don’t know if it’s a cpu time problem but it takes Forever to play through now. I’m sure it worked when I first played it.